INVENTION OF THE BALANCE SPRING. 367 



Immediately after the Restoration, Mr. Boyle recommended Foundation of 



the Royal 

 Society, &;c. 



Mr. Hooke to the Duke of York (who was very fond of sea*''® ^''^'"' 



affairs), to Lord Brouncker, and Sir Robert Moray, the most 

 eminent at that time for mathematical knowledge ; and pro- 

 posed to Mr. Hooke to apply for a patent. Charles the Second 

 founded the Royal Society, and enjoined the membei-s to turn 

 much of their attention to the improvement- of navigation, and 

 established the Greenwich Observatory for this very purpose; 

 and the Parliament decreed a reward of ^2000. Oldenburgh 

 became secretary of the Royal Society, and kept a close cor- 

 respondence with Huyghens, both public and private; and 

 Huyghens was elected member in l6"62 or l663. He was in 

 England in l663, and was much caressed by all the learned, 

 and particularly by those now named. During all this time 

 there was not the least mention of his longitude watches ; and 

 Hooke's was kept a secret for reasons now to be explained. 



Lord Brouncker, Sir Robert Moray, and Mr. Boyle were History of 

 so much convinced of the superiority of Hooke's watches, that p^^gj^^^f^j'l'j^g, 

 they aided him in procuring a patent. A warrant for one Avas pieces, and 

 actually signed by the king's orders for fourteen years.* Now j'^^^^^yi!^^^!,^,^ 

 these three gentlemen joined with Mr. Hooke in the prosecu- ker. Sir R. 

 tion of the affair, perhaps contributing the money wanted for^ovle.* ^^ 

 carrying on the business of watch-making ; and it was then that 

 Mr. Hooke invented the engine for dividing and cutting clock 

 and watch wheels now in universal use. Mr. Waller had 

 ^several drafts of the mutual agreement, with various changes 

 of the terms. It appears from them, that these gentlemen 

 were to procure an act of Paliament for a duty of a groat per 

 ton on all shipping sailing from any English port. And it 

 was provided, that if the profits should exceed £6000, Hooke 

 was to have three -fourths, and they to have the remainder. If 

 it amounted only to <£4!0G0,he was to get only two-thirds, &c. 

 It does not appear that all this while that Hooke disclosed his 

 secret to them, further than by subjecting the watch's motion 

 to their examination, along with Bishop Ward and Dr. Pell, 

 and assuring them that the secret was contained in the cypher 

 which he had long ago given to Mr. Boyle. But about the 



* This patent was in possession of Mr. Waller, secretary of the 

 Royal Society in 1705. 



end 



